Igor Sechin
Igor Ivanovich Sechin ( , born 7 September 1960, Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Russian official, considered a close ally of Vladimir Putin. Sechin is often described as one of Putin's most conservative counselors and the leader of the Kremlin's Siloviki faction, a statist lobby gathering former security services agents.Robert Amsterdam, "Downgrading the Siloviki", July 23, 2008. Igor Sechin currently is Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in Vladimir Putin's cabinet. Career Igor Sechin graduated from Leningrad State University in 1984 as a linguist fluent in Portuguese and French. In the 1980s Igor Sechin worked in Mozambique. He was officially a Soviet interpreter. It is believed that he was a resident spy.(ru) Сечин, Игорь According to Stratfor, Sechin was "the USSR’s point man for weapons smuggling to much of Latin America and the Middle East" and he reportedly served with GRU agent and arms smuggler Viktor Bout.The Russian Resurgence and the New-Old Front, Stratfor, 15 September 2008. "'Merchant of Death' denies arming terror", Guardian, 15 March 2009“Merchant of Death” Trial Still Looms, The New American, 28 may 2009 From 1991 to 1996, he worked at St. Petersburg mayor's office, and became a chief of staff of the first deputy mayor, Vladimir Putin in 1994. From 1996 to 1997, Sechin served as a deputy of Vladimir Putin, who worked in the presidential property management department. From 1997 to 1998, Sechin was the chief of the general department of the main control directorate attached to the president, led by Putin. In August 1999, he was appointed head of the secretariat of the prime minister of Russia, Putin. From 24 November 1999, - 11 January 2000, Sechin was the first deputy chief of the Russian presidential administration. Between 31 December 1999 and May 2008 he was deputy chief of Putin's administration. In May 2008, he was appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev as a deputy prime minister in a move considered as a demotion.A Lineup Aimed at Taming Siloviki, The Sunday Times, 15 May 2008. According to Stratfor, "Sechin acts as boss of Russia’s gigantic state oil company Rosneft and commands the loyalty of the FSB. Thus, he represents the FSB’s hand in Russia’s energy sector."Russia: The FSB Branches Out, Stratfor, 16 may 2008 Since 27 July 2004 he has been the chairman of the board of directors of JSC Rosneft, which swallowed up the assets of jailed tycoon Khodorkovsky's Yukos. Khodorkovsky has accused Igor Sechin of plotting to have him arrested and plundering his oil company: "The second as well as the first case were organised by Igor Sechin. He orchestrated the first case against me out of greed and the second out of cowardice." Jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky ‘framed’ by key Putin aide, The Sunday Times, 18 May 2008. In 2008 Mr. Sechin allegedly blocked the replacement of the AAR consortium with Gazprom in the TNK-BP joint venture.BP, Russian billionaires, and the Kremlin: a Power Triangle that never was "Oxford Energy Comment", November 2011. Accessed 24 November 2011 In 2008 Igor Sechin was involved with the BP oil company and did private negotiations with BP CEO.TNK-BP Is Hurting Russia In 2008 Hugo Chávez said that the idea for Venezuelan nuclear program came from Sechin. Sechin negotiated deals on weapons and nuclear technology deliveries to Venezuela.Russia Offers Venezuela's Chavez Weapons, Nuclear Cooperation, Bloomberg, 25 september 2008 In July 2009 he negotiated deals with Cuba that bring Russia into deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.Russia to drill for oil off Cuba, BBC News, 29 july 2009 Sechin also presides over the Board of Directors of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, and helped with negotiations with France over the purchase of four Mistral-class assault vessels. Sechin argued that two ships should be constructed in Russia and two in France, as opposed to the initial offer that only one be constructed in Russia.Piotr Żochowski, Russia's interest in the Mistral: the political and military aspects, Center for Eastern Studies website, 11 november 2010 Piotr Żochowski, of the Polish Center for Eastern Studies, argued that "it cannot be ruled out that Sechin's stance on this issue results from his personal financial involvement in the St Petersburg shipbuilding industry". Personal life Igor Sechin is married, and has a daughter, Inga. Inga married Dmitry Ustinov, son of former Prosecutor General and current Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District Vladimir Ustinov, in 2003. Inga and Dmitry had a son in 2005. After the demotion of Vladimir Ustinov in 2006, Sechin reportedly instigated the appointment of Alexander Bastrykin, another ally of his, as Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office in 2007 in order to retain his influence(ru) Бастрыкин, Александр, Lenta.ru(ru) Однокашник президента возглавит прокурорское следствие, Kommersant.ru, 22 june 2007(ru) СЕЧИНСКИЙ КОМИТЕТ ПРИ ГЕНПРОКУРАТУРЕ, Politcom.ru, 22 june 2007. References External links *Biography, Lenta.ru (in Russian). Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:Russian politicians Category:Russian businesspeople Category:Russian businesspeople in the oil industry Category:GRU officers Category:Arms traders Category:Rosneft br:Igor Setchin de:Igor Iwanowitsch Setschin et:Igor Setšin fr:Igor Setchine he:איגור סצ'ין hu:Igor Ivanovics Szecsin mk:Игор Сечин ja:イーゴリ・セーチン ru:Сечин, Игорь Иванович fi:Igor Setšin sv:Igor Setjin zh:伊格·伊瓦諾維奇·謝欽